Anti-plaque, Anti-microbial and Anti-calculus Oral Care Product Testing and Claim Support

Anti-plaque, anti-microbial and anti-calculus (tartar) in vitro assessments of oral care products can help manufacturers to gather data for claims support. Our in vitro methods enable rapid and cost-effective assessments of these properties and thus help manufacturers to mitigate risks in early formulation development.  

Plaque or calculus build-up is a concern for consumers because of a negative impact on oral health, for example, enamel demineralization or periodontal (gum) disease. Consumer concern has led to a growing focus on plaque and calculus prevention claims for oral care product formulations, such as toothpastes, mouthwashes, gels or flosses. The majority of oral care product formulations now contain one or more active ingredients known to prevent or reduce plaque or calculus build-up.  

In Vitro Support for Plaque Prevention or Plaque Removal Claims

If you are developing a new product or wish to assess anti-plaque or anti-calculus agents, then an in vitro approach will allow you to screen formulations using rapid and effective laboratory testing models. Our in vitro methods compare anti-plaque and anti-calculus properties of oral product formulations and our experts generate robust data to guide your product development and demonstrate that your marketing claims are justified. 

Plaque Prevention
Our in vitro method compares the ability of oral care products to prevent or reduce plaque biofilm build-up versus a positive control and a negative control (deionized water). In this method, roughened glass rods are cycled for 4 days through immersions in human saliva, nutrient broth and oral products. The plaque biofilm is quantified by mass and/or Total Viable Counts (TVC) of aerobic bacteria, providing robust data to benchmark formulations and on which plaque prevention claims can be based.

Plaque Removal
Our in vitro approach assesses the ability of oral care product formulations, such as denture-cleaning tablets, to remove plaque. Plaque seeded from human saliva is grown on the surfaces of human molars, custom-made molds or dental acrylic samples. Disclosing solution is used to stain the developed biofilm and the percentage of pre-treatment plaque coverage calculated. The samples are then exposed to the oral care product formulation and redisclosed to show post-treatment plaque coverage. Image analysis software or instrumental measurement of colour can be used to quantify the removal of dental plaque, providing data to evaluate the capabilities of oral care product formulations and generate data to justify marketing claims.

pH Buffering
Our in vitro approach measures the ability of oral care product formulations, versus a negative control, to buffer the pH of a plaque biofilm to prevent it decreasing to the level at which enamel demineralization occurs (pH 5.5) as a result of biofilm metabolism of sucrose to produce acid. A plaque biofilm is seeded from human saliva and pre-treated with an oral care product. Plaque is then exposed to a sucrose challenge and pH measured over time. The ability of an oral care product formulation to buffer the plaque biofilm pH, and thus prevent pH reduction, is assessed over time. This method allows manufacturers to assess the pH-buffering capacity of oral care product formulations and generate data to justify marketing claims.

Calculus Prevention
Our in vitro approach assesses the ability of oral care product formulations and controls to prevent or reduce calculus build-up. A plaque biofilm is seeded from human saliva and grown on perspex rods with periodic exposures to nutrient broth and a calcium solution. During biofilm development, the rods are exposed intermittently to test product formulations or controls. At the end of the test, the residual biofilm is dissolved in acid and tested for calcium content, using techniques such as Inductively-Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) in a Good Clinical Practice (GCP) compliant laboratory. This method allows manufacturers to assess the effectiveness of oral care product formulations to prevent or reduce calculus build-up and generate data to justify marketing claims.

In Vitro Oral Care Product Expertise
For more than 20 years, our scientists have been a trusted partner for developers and manufacturers to evaluate the effectiveness of oral care products. Our anti-plaque tests are based on methods described in the literature and use precise instrumentation and controls to ensure generation of robust data.

Our wider-based oral care testing services are aimed at supporting product performance and efficacy. They include in vitro models for whitening, sensitivity, enamel repair and protection, and cleaning efficacy. We can also support your clinical studies and provide hard tissue sample preparation for your in-house studies. Intertek’s Total Quality Assurance expertise brings quality and safety to life by providing a one-source solution for in vitro studies providing robust data to support the efficacy and marketing claims of novel treatments.